Last winter, the city’s fleet of electric buses completed every scheduled route despite record-low temperatures. Battery heaters installed the previous summer kept the vehicles running efficiently. Maintenance crews reported a 40 percent decrease in cold-weather breakdowns compared with diesel buses the year before.
Which sentence best supports the idea that the electric buses handled extreme cold more reliably than the old diesel buses?
- Last winter, the city’s fleet of electric buses completed every scheduled route despite record-low temperatures.
- Battery heaters installed the previous summer kept the vehicles running efficiently in the cold.
- Maintenance crews reported a 40 percent decrease in cold-weather breakdowns compared with diesel buses the year before. (correct answer)
- City officials plan to expand the electric fleet based on this successful trial run.
Explanation: When you encounter a question asking for evidence that supports a comparison between two things, look for the answer choice that directly contrasts the performance of both items being compared. The question asks which sentence best supports that electric buses were more reliable than diesel buses in extreme cold. To prove this claim, you need evidence that directly compares the performance of both types of buses under similar conditions. Answer choice C provides exactly this type of comparative evidence. The "40 percent decrease in cold-weather breakdowns compared with diesel buses the year before" gives you concrete data showing the electric buses had fewer problems than the diesel buses specifically during cold weather. This numerical comparison directly supports the reliability claim. Answer choice A mentions that electric buses completed all routes despite cold temperatures, but this only tells you about the electric buses' performance—it doesn't compare them to the diesel buses at all. Answer choice B explains how the electric buses stayed efficient (through battery heaters), but again provides no comparison to diesel performance. Answer choice D isn't even in the original passage and focuses on future plans rather than past performance data. The trap here is choosing evidence that sounds positive about electric buses without checking whether it actually compares the two bus types. Remember, when a question asks you to support a comparative claim (X is better than Y), only evidence that directly contrasts X and Y will work—positive information about just one side isn't enough.